A legislative committee Thursday ordered the auditor general to investigate a lease between the Department of Professional Regulation and a public research park, a move that may force the department to scramble for new headquarters.House Science and Technology Chairman Peter Wallace, D-St. Petersburg, told the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee that a variety of questions about the lease between the department and Tallahassee's Innovation Park for a new headquarters for the agency should be answered.

Regular elevator service at Gleneagles Country Club resumed 31 days after efforts to replace the building's old elevator started. That job, planned for 12 days, had been jammed up in new requirements that smoke alarms in the building undergo an inspection and testing. Martha Levine, 88, was just glad her long stretch holed up in her sixth-floor condo in West Delray was over. The stroke victim had been unable to negotiate stairs to the ground – so she was happy for Wednesday's reprieve.

The Legislature last week approved a bill last that would let accountants move away from the Department of Professional Regulation. It passed another measure that would transfer the regulation of doctors and other health-care professionals from DPR to a separate agency.For George Stuart, secretary of DPR, the waning days of the legislative session were trying.''It's a frustrating time. It's kind of like the rules get changed daily,'' Stuart said amid the din of lobbyists milling about the fourth-floor Capitol rotunda.

Got some repairs to do in the wake of the flooding cause by Tropical Storm Isaac ? If so, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is urging people to be sure to hire only licensed professionals. Consumers are also encouraged to post or tweet pictures to the department's social media channels if they suspect someone is performing unlicensed activity, which would enable inspectors to gather information from areas that may have limited accessibility. Floridians can also notify the Department of Business and Professional Regulation of any suspected unlicensed activity by calling 866-532-1440, emailing ula@dbpr.state.fl.us or posting a picture with the address where the work is being performed to the Department's Facebook or Twitter pages.

Michael J. Karaffa, an architect with Briel, Rhame, Poynter and Houser, architects-engineers, has earned a certification by the Board of Architecture, Department of Professional Regulation for Florida.

Tattoo artists may get tougher state regulation under a bill headed to the governor. The plan (HB 2249) requires the Department of Professional Regulation to recommend the level of supervision for tattoo artists.

A Senate committee Monday unanimously supported the appointment of George Stuart of Orlando as secretary of the Department of Professional Regulation.The Professional Regulation Committee addressed only two comments to Stuart, who served in the chamber until last year. The remarks dealt with fees and the department's relationship with the committee.The appointment now goes to the full Senate.

The Senate passed a bill (CS/SB 674) Tuesday 36-2 to take the regulatory oversight of the state's 25,000 certified public accountants away from the Department of Professional Regulation and give it to Comptroller Gerald Lewis, the state's top banking regulator.The Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants is seeking the transfer because it doesn't like the treatment its profession has received from the regulators, who oversees 46 professions and 1.3 million licensees.Professional regulation Secretary George Stuart opposes the move as bad public policy.

GOV. LAWTON Chiles vetoed a bill (SB 674) Wednesday that would have trans ferred the regulation of certified public accountants from the Department of Professional Regulation to the Department of Banking and Finance. CPAs sought the move because they felt they did not get the attention they deserved under DPR. . . . Doctors, construction contractors, real estate agents and dozens of other professionals under the Department of Professional Regulation will be required to pay an additional $5 for their licenses next year under a bill signed Wednesday by Chiles.

Three members of a state licensing agency — including regional and statewide program administrators — have been fired after an internal review of a series of unorthodox Orange County barbershop inspections with sheriff's deputies. In sweeps of several black and Hispanic Orange County barbershops, deputies made in 35 arrests on a "barbering without an active license" charge almost never used for physical arrests in the state. Just days after an Orlando Sentinel report on the operations, described by barbers and customers as SWAT-style raids, the state licensing agency announced it was suspending all joint operations with law enforcement pending its internal review.

Days after a state agency raised several potential concerns about a series of controversial barbershop sweeps by Orange County sheriff's deputies and state licensing inspectors, the Sheriff's Office said Tuesday it would conduct an internal investigation. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said the probe comes on the heels of a report last week by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation on the joint operations. "In the final report, there are several points of interest which bring to light and question the procedural response to circumstances presented to [sheriff's deputies]

State cracks down on illegal activity As the state of our economy tops the headlines, many of us find ourselves struggling to discover more effective ways to use resources and to protect our livelihood. We are doing the same at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. My thoughts turn to our licensees, such as Monarcha Marcet, with whom I met while "On the Road to Better Business." Marcet shared her concerns about unlicensed activity, and during this economic downturn, I think of my conversation with her and about our law-abiding, state-licensed professionals who are losing work to unlicensed individuals, who don't carry insurance, provide workers compensation or withhold Social Security.

When I read Greg Dawson's recent columns on unlicensed activity in the Orlando Sentinel, I felt compelled to share the strides that the Department of Business and Professional Regulation has taken to identify, cite and arrest unlicensed individuals through sweep and sting operations. When meeting with consumers, licensees and industry members, unlicensed activity is the most frequently raised issue. Last year, Division of Regulation staff executed 303 sweeps and 24 stings. This year, which began July 1, the staff already has conducted 263 sweeps and 17 stings.

Kathleen Koeberich was regarded as a bright, hard-working and compassionate individual. As the bureau chief of enforcement, she led a team of investigators who regulated the real-estate industry for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Orlando. Koeberich, 57, died Nov. 24 at her home in Orlando. She passed away in her sleep from an undetermined cause. Koeberich grew up in Pottstown, Pa., where she served as editor of her high school's newspaper, on the student council and was named class valedictorian.

Oviedo -- Oviedo police Chief Charles Drago has resigned to accept an appointment as deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. His resignation is effective Friday. Drago, 54, came to Oviedo about three years ago from Fort Lauderdale, where he served for 28 years and left as assistant chief. City Manager Gerald Seeber plans to name an interim chief this week and is working with the city's Human Resources Department to search for a replacement.

POLITICAL SPOILS. Republican Gov. Bob Martinez is expected to appoint new secretaries of the departments of Business Regulation and Professional Regulation within a few weeks, and that means Harold Huff, executive director of the Florida Division of Real Estate, is out of a job. The division director is appointed by the secretary of professional regulation. Huff, who took over the Orlando-based real estate regulatory arm during Democratic Gov. Bob Graham's tenure, has been looking around since the change in administration.

Add Florida to the growing list of states deciding how to deal with eBay and some of its top agents -- the businesses that sell stuff for other people. Are they auctioneers? Pawnbrokers? Secondhand shops? Or something else? There is no shortage of opinions on the matter. And certainly no agreement. The issue took an odd turn recently when the quarterly newsletter of an obscure state board said the businesses -- operating under names such as QuikDrop, Snappy Auctions and Webay -- must be treated as auctioneers, requiring their owners to be licensed.

DELAND---The City Commission's regular meeting moves to Tuesday next week out of respect for Yom Kippur. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Annex at 112 W. Rich Ave. On the agenda is the termination of the rental lease to Blue Martini Restaurant and Bar. The downtown business closed earlier this month after state beverage agents revoked its liquor license because of more than $80,000 in unpaid back taxes, penalties and interests, according...